Saturday, November 27, 2010

I've been doing very little ,, of anything, for the past two weeks ,,
My first ( and decidedly UN- pleasant ) chemo session is now over & I have my old self back on lovely Planet Earth for a few days until the start of session 2.
As I said, I've done virtually nothing this past two weeks ,, but I have watched & listened to the world going round ,,, mainly via TV unfortunately, for we have such biased, insular TV reporting here in the UK. What ? you don't believe me ,,, go listen to the World news from other countries and see the difference .,., you'll be suprised, but more than that I hope ,, shocked ! )
Some comments then from my weeks away ...
University fees ... I wholeheartedly support the young folks on this one. I mean, how absurd to think in your early 20's that if you can get a job at all, even one with a miserly £21 grand annual salary, that you then owe the Government anything from £30 -£40 grand for the priviledge of working for that degree !! And that before you even think about a roof over your head mortgage . This is SURE to encourage our young school leavers to rush the gates of the local Uni !! NOT.
Christ we'll be charging the Primary school we'ans next !! ( Hey, what am I saying ,, have you seen the cost involved in wee kids school stuff recently ?? .,., and Nursery prices ,, now there's a joke ,, aye, sick joke ! )

The NZ mining disaster :- sadly, knowing what I do about coal mining ( as against the Chilian gold / copper mine ) this always looked like a no win situation. Hopefully these guys were long gone before the 2nd. blast hit them. My heartfelt condolences go out to their people ,,, not a way to die.

Margo McDonald's Euthanasia Bill & the Scottish Parliament .... Again, not a way to die BUT .,.,.,
Should I waste my time commenting on this ? Of course, given my own current diagnosis the bill now has REAL meaning to me on a personal note, but I was never afraid to air my long held view that MERCY killing ( if they must use the K word ) is the only really HUMANE thing to do in such circumstances, and as for assisting someone in those dire straits ,, well how can that possibly be a crime when the act of suicide itself isn't ?? Of couse Politicians have other fish to fry ( aye & jobs to protect !! ) but they MUST sit down and sort out the details, that's that we pay them for !
Anyway, My thinking friend Alistair has covered this subject more than adequately in his Blog and I'd basically be writing the same stuff ,,, so go read Al's ( you'll find him at Crivens, jings and help ma blog .,., and many's a good read you'll also find there. )
I did make a less than serious comment initially ,,, just couldn't resist !!
Dr Johnston McKay spots an unfortunate choice of words on the Church of Scotland press release expressing opposition to Margo MacDonald’s euthanasia legislation, which was debated at the Scottish Parliament last week.
It was headlined: “Minister urges politicians to kill Bill.” Ohhhhh ...sorry !
Of course on a more serious note I fully support my friend's plea to debate this subject to a conclusion ( even more so now as I said with my present diagnosis ! )
It must never be a crime to help someone in such circumstances, just as long as the necessary safeguards are firmly laid down.
As another Blogger friend of ours says ,, most normal folks would support this bill ,, the very wording of this "crime" says it all for me .,., MERCY

Then there's the Referee debacle : Now these guys are in a thankless position ,,, WHY do they do this job anyway ? They make mistakes ,,, weekly, of course they do ,, it's a fast game & they're bound to but surely in the end these mistakes do balance out ?? I find it hard to believe that the whole refereeing establishment are out to get Celtic football club ! And as for that "wee fight waiting to happen " Mr. N. Lennon ,,, well I'm afraid if I'd been the ref. he was F'ing & blinding at on the touchline he'd have gone home with a broken nose ! What a poor example to set our young football supporters he is. Self control son ,,, it's only a game !
And now the SFA in their wisdom bringing in foreign Refs to break the strike ,,, in my day these guys were called Scabs ,, nasty but hey, isn't it nice boys to have the backing of your fellow whistlers ?? What an absolute bloody shower !

Friday, November 05, 2010

POLICE are hunting for a Smurf who punched a Rastafarian in the face. ( Aw C'mon ,, it's surely no' that slow a news day ? )
The 21-year-old victim needed four stitches but police have had no luck finding his attacker. ( Whit, 4-whole stitches !! & no luck finding the perpetrator .,.,well there's a surprise ! )
Appealing for information, a Detective Inspector no less, John Dearie said: "I can honestly say it is the first time in nearly 30 years in the force that I have been looking for a suspect who was a Smurf." ( Really dearie ? You need to get out more ! )
The attack happened in the early hours of Monday at a Hallowe'en fancy dress party in the Word Up nightclub in Greenock, Inverclyde. ( Ah Greenock, that explains everything !! )
The Smurfs are small blue creatures ( naw they're no', they're just figments of some idiot children's story book writer's imagination !!, who first featured as cartoons in the Belgian magazine Spirou in 1958. They later appeared in an animated TV series. ( Ah, Belgium ,,, How jolly interesting ! )
Note to editor : If this "journalist" of yours can't find anything more newsworthy than this, then save yourself a salary & fire him / her ! Although a " story " linking both Greenock & Belgium ,, now that's not easy !!

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

James A Froude : We enter the world alone, and we leave the world alone.
Unfortunately I have recently learned that I may be leaving the world sooner than anticipated ( or desired ! ) ,,, BUT,
Let me say right here & now ,, I dispute Froude's oft quoted words ABSOLUTELY !
My mother came with me all the way as I came into this world and over the past few weeks ( if I never knew before ) I now know with complete certainty that I have a batch of friends & beautiful family who will march with me every step of the way and wave me off on my outward journey.
The real terror of dying holds no menace ,, only the worry that one might have to do it alone.
I have no such worries !

About Me

Retired, early, Engineering Manager for large USA Safety Company. Did that for almost 40-years. Haven't missed it for even a minute since retiring ( more than 10- years ago now. )
Have a great looking dame that I love for a wife, a daughter,son-in-law,son,daughter-in-law and 7-brilliant grandchildren, 4-boys and 3-girls, and I love all of them to bits !
I now Golf, write, do a bit of semi- serious photography, read, listen to music, see friends ,, in short,,,,
I now just Enjoy LIFE :-0)